The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-06-08
Thoughts Suggested While Watching the
Paradss on Decoration Day.
The Police Of New York, and Captain Will
hams' Success in Hls Precinct
DOM Piatt Rscitss the Story Of tbs Ca!acizy
Episode in Washington Life.
Piatps New Book-RsmarkabIe Interest IN
Sporting Events-EheetricalM Matters
"A Russian Authority.
Especial Correspondence Of the sentI.sl.l

Especial Correspondence of the Sentirell
NEW YORK, June ZACH year the num-
bers in the parade of the Grand Army of
the Republic on Decoration Day grow
smaller, and the graves of the veterans
more numerous. i watched the parade OF
Monday last and thought of this for about
three consecutive and serious minutes,
while the rest OF two hours of time spent
10 watching the long draGn-out line was
devoted to admiration Of the young fellows
who are taking the place OF the old soldiers.
Decoration Day isn't to my mind such a
solemn occasion as it purports to be. l
don's indulge in regrets; l don't care fig
for me has beens; haven't the slightest
reverence for the 'once famous" but 1
like to anticipate. I believe in the boys
who are 70 make history, and delight in
believing that the hereafter is to produce
greater men than we have ever known or
heard of.
watched the parade of the young sol
dieIs with delight, marred by one rehec-
tion-they don't march as tho old soldiers
do. They haven't that long, Looping stride
that the Grand Army had when it marched
home through Washington. They haven't
that stride which enabled Sherman to
march around Joe Johnston's flank when
he couldn't break his front. The new sol
diers are precise IN step and prim in man.
ner but the substance Of valor and en-
saw on Monday will probably have occa-
sion TO show both in deadly encounter.
We are already beginning to need another
war with somebody-among ourselves If
we can't find anybody else to fght-and
war ought always to be as welcome as a
thunderstorm, for it has something of the
same refining influence. A war which
will annex Mexico or Canada, for in
stance, will set those countries a hundred
wears ahead in civilization
The police of this city had their parade
the day after Decoration Day. There were
over 1900 of them in line, and fine dis
play of splendid physiques they made.
These annual parades have a good infiu-
ence, for they show the restless element of
great city like this the great concen
tTated and disciplined strength of our
militia and police.
i was greatly pleased with the demonstra-
ton made all along the line of march on
the appearance of Captain A. S Williams,
of the Twenty-niuth Precinct. On almost
every block of the entire line of march
three cheers were called for him by
name, and given with vigor By the public,
who always will like positive and bellig-
e. ent fellow such ss Williams is. He is
the object of more hatred from thieves and
politicians than any half dozen other Off
GERS on the force. Ever since
/ can recollect, the Mayors and
other small fry politicians of
to get Williams dismissed from the force,
or removed from the Twenty-ninth Pre-
cinct. They have invariably had the hearty
good wishes, ii not cooperation, of the
pool sellers, gamblers, thieves and bunco.
steerers of the city. Williams precinct is
probably the richest in the world. All the
great hotels, restaurants and dry goods and
Jewelry establishments are in his precinct.
So are all the largest houses of ill-fame
and the biggest gamblers clubs; for you
will find here, as the wide world over,
that the demimonde of both sexes con-
gregate where the most wealth is con-
centrated. Yet IL no part OF the city
is crime less frequent than in
Captain Williams district. Twenty
thousand strangers day are free from rob-
berry or violence in that district; burglaries
there are almost unheard of, and murder
has not been committed there in a long
while; and 1t is solely because of Williams
reputation as "a good clubber'' and fear
less officer. Every once in a while some
body make charges against him for per-
uniting prostitution and gambling and
other vices of human nature to exist, and
as a result the Police Board has to listen to
a lot of whining compliments who think
the millennium ought to exist in their i'm
mediate neighborhood, and then they
have to read endless lists of the most sub
stantial merchants and citizens protesting
against Williams removal from the pre-
cinet.
Steele Mackaye has been illustrating at
Buffalo the many difficulties and the few
ADVANTAGES of trying a new play on a
dog" as the familiar slang of the stage de-
scribes the production of q new piece out
side the metropolis before submitting II to
a more critical examination. Mackaye is a
nervous, wiry man, with a great deal of
energy of a spasmodic kind and a con-
slant and firm confidence in his ability, and
little annoyances aggravate him nightly,
while failure is correspondingly depressing.
He seems to have had any number of an
noyances in Buffalo, where he produced
his new play of Anarchy" and the piece
Itself seems to have fallen rather fat. The
name is enough to kill it. 1t does not seem
likely that it viii be tried on here very
soon.
Another manager who pursues the same
policy with new pieces is Colonel William
Z. Sim, OF the Brooklyn Park, but he
orders things better than Mackaye. He
tries his new plays at his own house, where
he can do as he pleases with the force az
his commando very important particular
in the production of new play. Then he
tries on new pieces only for his own star,
who is also his own wife, and here are three
incentives to good and thorough work by
the manager, and that generally insures
good work by all the subordinates. Colonel
Sims plan is to try new piece at his
own house for a week; If it Is success IL
goes on the road; If It is ailure it is
shelved and permitted to be forgotten.
His production this week of Robert
Bachanan's play of Fascination received
more than the usual attention from the
critics, who were uniformly very kind,
both to the author and the actress who in.
terpreted the principal part The latter
was Cora Tanner, most beautiful woman,
and for two seasons past very successful
star in q melodrama by Buchanan, entitled
'Alone in London" Although she has
made q success OF Fascination" Colonel
Sim tells me that she Is booked for next
season in "Alone in London" and will
not, therefore, play Fascination during
the season of 1888.
met Dom Piatt, who founded the Wash
iDgton Capitol. ut the Lafayette Hotel,
Philadelphia, not long since. He had been
reading Badeau's account of the Cata-
Gays. "Badeau, he said. docs not mince
matters in speaking Of that outrage on Off
cial and social life at Washington; he tells
the truth about the Catacszys."
"Why," asked, do you call it an out
ra0e1,